West

"Doctor Green," I said, glancing at Nell. "What is wrong with my father?"

"His health has been declining for months now."

"But why?"

"His heart is bad."

His heart is so good. I almost said something but stopped.

The doctor checked John's heartbeat. Philip paced in the doorway, and Nell wrung her hands nearby.

"He's resting peacefully," the doctor said finally. "He will need more sleep. He should not leave his bed, unless necessary. Philip, may I speak to you?"

I watched the two men step into the hallway. The doctor spoke for a few minutes. Philip nodded grimly and motioned for the doctor to follow him out.

"He's not going to make it long, is he?" I whispered, eyes returning to John.

"He may just be tired. He was more active the past several days, since you arrived, than he had been in months," Nell said. "He wanted to go to town today."

There was a note of denial in Nell's tone, one that made me pity her. I was sad, but she was on the verge of being devastated. I wiped my face, compassion for the elderly man and his suffering while also wishing I had had more time to get to know him.

Two-week vacation, I reminded myself. When I get home, they'll all have been gone for a very long time. It was an awful idea that the people around me were already dead.

"Cousin," Philip called from the doorway. "A word."

I hated the way he spoke to me but joined him in the hallway.

"The doctor believes your father doesn't have more than a day, maybe two, before his heart gives out." Philips words made my breath catch. "I am gathering what family can make it here within a day. If there are any acquaintances you wish me to contact?" By his doubtful look, he didn't think I knew anyone.

"What of the Indian Chief?" I asked. "They have been neighbors for years and share land."

"A practice I will put an end to when John passes."

"Not if the lands all go to me."

"Cousin," Philip smiled. "Your claim to his property will not stand in court. You have no husband and no real claim, unless you can prove you are his daughter. You disappeared a year ago. The courts will believe a father first, a faithful cousin second."

Anger trickled through me. He was sure of himself, already discrediting my ability to hold onto John's lands. They weren't mine, but the thought of a man like Philip taking over anything of gentle John's made me mad.

It was getting harder to remember that I was here for one reason only: to keep Running Bear or his twin from starting a war. I didn't need the drama of John and real Josephine's life.